Pakistan, May 31 -- With reference to the news items regarding the 14th meeting of the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue, it is clarified that State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), in 2018 advised its regulated entities including Banks, Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), Microfinance Banks (MFBs), Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs), Payment System Operators (PSOs), Payment Service Providers (PSPs), and Exchange Companies to avoid dealing in Virtual Assets (VAs) due to the absence of any legal and regulatory framework for the VAs; not because it was declared illegal in the country. This was done to protect its regulated entities and their customers from the risks emanating due to the absence of legal and regulat...